Dominion: Don't know why cable failed, causing explosions

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -

We're learning more about the cause of the explosions that erupted in downtown Richmond Wednesday night, causing panic and emergency repairs. Crews took much of the day making those fixes. Almost 24 hours later, people were still talking about the explosions that rocked the area.

Smoke billowing from a manhole, captured in incredible home video, filled the air at 5th and Broad Streets downtown. Then, an explosion erupted that witnesses say literally shook nearby buildings. One describes the cover "went a few feet in the air just like a poker chip flipping end over end."

Marie Taylor heard about it on NBC12 News at 11.

"It just shook me," she recalled. "I was scared because it could've been me down here."

Dominion Virginia Power explains an underground cable failed, causing a small fire and explosion. Workers had to replace about 500 feet of the cable. There were no major power outages and no injuries as a result of those explosions.

"I hope they can fix the problem so we can go back on with our life, shopping experiences and everything, because this is a crowded area down here," Taylor added. "You can't have nothing like that going on."

Dominion Spokesperson Rob Richardson says they don't know at this point, and in fact, might never know, why the cable failed. So we wanted to find out how the company will prevent this from happening again.

"We'll work with city crews to understand what caused that explosion," Richardson explained. "We also every year, once a year we inspect all the underground cable."

Richardson could not tell us when this particular cable was last inspected.

Iris Bolling is from Richmond, and she is a former Commonwealth of Virginia employee and now a published author and production company owner. In 10 years, she wrote 22 books and even turned some of them into shows.

Iris Bolling is from Richmond, and she is a former Commonwealth of Virginia employee and now a published author and production company owner. In 10 years, she wrote 22 books and even turned some of them into shows.

Derrick Johnson was introduced as the new Hermitage head football coach on Thursday. He replaces Patrick Kane, who stepped down after 17 seasons in December. Johnson spent the last three years as the head coach at Matoaca, and takes over a program that's experienced 17 straight winning seasons and 12 playoff appearances during that span.

Derrick Johnson was introduced as the new Hermitage head football coach on Thursday. He replaces Patrick Kane, who stepped down after 17 seasons in December. Johnson spent the last three years as the head coach at Matoaca, and takes over a program that's experienced 17 straight winning seasons and 12 playoff appearances during that span.